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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · capital · tear · spring · chair · ruler

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spring — the season
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com