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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 120 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: firm · arm · drill · mine · cap · bear · kid · tear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cap — a lid
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cap — of ice
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. firm — steady
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — child
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. firm — decided
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. drill — army training
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cap — a hat
  22. firm — a company
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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