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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: file · content · press · tear · wound · capital

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. file — a document
  5. content — happy
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a city
  9. press — to push
  10. content — the amount
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. file — a tool
  18. content — videos and posts

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