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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: tear · mine · foot · present · chest · capital

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. capital — a city
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — there
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. capital — money
  13. chest — a box
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. present — a gift
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — to rip

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