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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 116 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 · scale · capital · bay · mine · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a city
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. scale — in music
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — a quarrel

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