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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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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: rock · wound · pit · staff · mouse · tear · capital · row

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. staff — employees
  3. rock — a stone
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — money
  7. staff — employees
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tear — to rip
  12. staff — a stick
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a line
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. rock — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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