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

Word bank: chip · bear · tear · patient · capital · chest

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — a city
  4. chip — to eat
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — to rip
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chip — for betting
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. capital — a big letter

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