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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: calf · chip · bear · band · kid · bark · tear · land

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — to come down
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a ring
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. land — a country
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. tear — from crying
  19. band — a music group
  20. chip — for betting
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kid — to tease

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