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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: cap · board · track · leaves · snap · wind · capital · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a city
  3. board — a committee
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. track — a song
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cap — a hat
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. capital — money
  13. cap — of ice
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — to get on
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. snap — to click
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wind — moving air

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