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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: rest · rash · tear · pit · capital · file

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rest — a break
  3. pit — in a race
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pit — a hole
  11. rash — a series
  12. file — a tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rest — what's left
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — from crying

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