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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 · bear · toast · capital · wind · snap · tear · jam

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tear — from crying
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wind — moving air
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. capital — money
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. tear — to rip
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. capital — a city
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. calf — a young animal

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