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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 116 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: rock · nail · club · pitcher · tear · capital · bear · stem

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rock — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — a group
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stem — to come from
  13. capital — money
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rock — a stone
  16. capital — a city
  17. club — for golf
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stem — a stem cell

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