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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: game · cap · mug · jam · capital · wind · tear · cabinet

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cap — a lid
  9. game — wild animals
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — of ice
  12. game — a match
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. mug — a face
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a hat

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