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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: band · pit · pop · tear · capital · firm

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pop — music
  3. pit — a hole
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — steady
  6. capital — a city
  7. pit — in a race
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — money
  11. firm — decided
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tear — to rip
  14. firm — a company
  15. pop — soda
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pop — to visit

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