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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 · capital · pit · can · kick · bat

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kick — in football
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — a city
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pit — a hole
  7. can — to be able to
  8. capital — money
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. can — a tin
  15. bat — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bat — in an idiom

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