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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: row · capital · club · fall · tear · mouse

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — to rip
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — a line
  11. capital — a city
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. club — for golf
  16. fall — the season
  17. club — a group
  18. capital — a big letter

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