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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: hide · lean · tear · content · land · game · rest · bear

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — a country
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. content — happy
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rest — what's left
  12. game — wild animals
  13. tear — to rip
  14. game — a match
  15. lean — to bend
  16. content — the amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — a break
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. land — ground

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