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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: bear · content · stand · fork · file · capital · tear · fine

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fine — all right
  3. capital — money
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fine — high quality
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. file — a document
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. stand — to bear
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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