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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: bear · pound · dip · tear · bat · scale · content · calf

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. dip — to sink
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. content — happy
  8. scale — in music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. content — the amount
  17. pound — a weight
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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