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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: bore · snap · bear · stick · fall · wind · tear · capital

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bore — to drill
  3. capital — a city
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to click
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — to drop
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bore — to tire
  24. fall — the season

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