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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: sharp · capital · wind · firm · file · bore · foot · leaves

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. firm — a company
  3. file — a document
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. firm — decided
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bore — to drill
  19. firm — steady
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bore — to tire
  24. foot — part of the body

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