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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: wind · tear · bore · capital · cap · chair

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chair — to sit on

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