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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: root · band · wound · tear · capital · pitch · vault · rash

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. root — the cause
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — a safe
  9. band — a ring
  10. capital — money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pitch — completely
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. root — of a word
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rash — a series
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. band — a music group
  24. tear — to rip

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