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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: wind · capital · tear · fork · charge · cap · rock · spring

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. cap — a hat
  3. tear — to rip
  4. charge — a price
  5. capital — a city
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rock — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. charge — electricity
  12. spring — of water
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cap — of ice
  15. charge — in control
  16. spring — the season
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spring — a coil

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