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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: bound · track · capital · craft · mine · hand · tear · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a city
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. capital — money
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mine — for digging
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bound — certain
  18. hand — in cards
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — tied together
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bound — obliged

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