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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: file · bowl · capital · rule · dip · tear

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. file — a document
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rule — government
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. dip — to sink
  12. tear — to rip
  13. capital — money
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. capital — a city
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. file — a tool

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