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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: drill · kid · tear · content · bear · cap

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. kid — to tease
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — child
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — the tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cap — of ice
  14. drill — a practice
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. content — happy

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