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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: capital · tear · fine · cabinet · bark · cap · squash · cold

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — a hat
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cap — of ice
  12. tear — to rip
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cold — an illness
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bark — of a tree

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