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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: fine · date · game · cold · capital · tear · stand · bound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bound — tied together
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cold — an illness
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fine — high quality
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — all right
  11. stand — to bear
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bound — obliged
  14. game — a match
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bound — certain
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fine — a penalty

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