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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 116 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 · rest · capital · fan · cap · squash · fall · root

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fall — the season
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cap — a lid
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cap — a hat
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rest — what's left
  21. root — the cause
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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