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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: mine · cap · nail · stem · fork · bound · kid · tear

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tear — from crying
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cap — of ice
  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