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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: wake · capital · mug · last · tear · fork · can · rush

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wake — a trail
  6. last — final
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a cup
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. can — a tin
  13. last — to go on
  14. rush — hurry
  15. mug — a face
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — money
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. last — finally
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. capital — a city
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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