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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: tear · suit · game · kick · wind · leaves · capital · date

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — a city
  8. game — wild animals
  9. capital — money
  10. game — a match
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. suit — in cards
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. suit — clothes
  24. kick — with a leg

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