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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bass · capital · mine · scale · saw · present · staff

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — the time now
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. present — there
  10. staff — a stick
  11. scale — in music
  12. bass — low music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — money
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — to rip
  19. scale — size or range
  20. capital — a city
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. saw — the tool
  23. present — a gift
  24. tear — from crying

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