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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 120 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 · stock · file · band · club · rash · foot

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — hasty
  3. club — for golf
  4. file — a document
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. file — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. band — a ring
  10. foot — a measure
  11. tear — from crying
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — a series
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. club — a group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. capital — money
  21. club — for dancing
  22. band — a music group
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. capital — a city

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