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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 120 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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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: cold · cabinet · capital · stick · charge · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. charge — a price
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. capital — a city
  12. charge — electricity
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. charge — in control

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