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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 · club · arm · capital · mate · coach

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. tear — from crying
  3. capital — a city
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. club — a group
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. club — for golf
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — to breed
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. club — for dancing
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tear — to rip

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