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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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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: tear · bear · kid · coach · content · club

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. club — a group
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. content — happy
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. club — for golf
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. content — the amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. club — for dancing

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