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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: tear · capital · rush · fine · kick · chair

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. fine — all right
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. fine — high quality
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. kick — a thrill
  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