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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: capital · arm · cap · charge · chair · bear · land · tear

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bear — the animal
  6. land — to come down
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — money
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. charge — electricity
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — to rip
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. land — a country
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tear — from crying
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. land — ground

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