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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 120 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 · row · wound · capital · club · hide · mark · stick

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mark — a grade
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a city
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. club — a group
  18. capital — money
  19. tear — from crying
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. row — a line
  24. hide — to keep secret

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