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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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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 · cap · bowl · capital · firm · kid

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — of ice
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — a company
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cap — a hat
  14. firm — steady
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. kid — child
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cap — a lid

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