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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 · file · present · capital · squash · net

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. squash — the sport
  3. capital — money
  4. squash — to crush
  5. present — the time now
  6. file — a line of people
  7. present — a gift
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. present — there
  10. net — in sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. file — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — a city

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