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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: arm · wind · cell · mark · tear · bear

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cell — in biology
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. tear — from crying
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wind — moving air

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