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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: cap · kid · bear · tear · pop · chip · date · rest

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bear — the animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chip — for betting
  6. tear — from crying
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rest — a break
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — a hat
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. kid — child
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pop — music
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cap — of ice
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rest — what's left

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