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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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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: race · bear · tear · capital · season · mine

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. season — in sport
  2. capital — money
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. capital — a city
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tear — to rip
  15. season — of the year
  16. race — a contest
  17. bear — the animal
  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