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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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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: bore · capital · chair · net · tear · wake · rest · spring

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bore — to drill
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rest — what's left
  7. net — in sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. capital — a city
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bore — to tire
  13. net — for catching
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tear — to rip
  16. net — after costs
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wake — a trail
  20. spring — the season
  21. rest — a break
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. wake — before a funeral

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