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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: capital · bore · mark · last · arm · tear · kid · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mark — a grade
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — child
  6. last — finally
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. tear — to rip
  12. row — to paddle
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bore — to tire
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bore — to drill
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. tear — from crying
  23. last — final
  24. row — a quarrel

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