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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: kid · ruler · ground · capital · fall · bear

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — to tease
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ground — crushed
  12. kid — child
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bear — the animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fall — the season

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