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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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Word bank
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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: tear · board · track · staff · tube · pop · capital · wound

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wound — an injury
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. wound — an injury
  11. board — a committee
  12. track — a song
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. track — a path
  16. board — to get on
  17. capital — money
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pop — soda
  20. staff — employees
  21. pop — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a city
  24. board — a flat piece

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