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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mine — for digging
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. face — part of the head
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — a contest
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. race — humankind
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bear — the animal
  20. face — to confront
  21. capital — a city
  22. prune — to trim
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. prune — to trim

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