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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tear · plane · bowl · can · hand · bark · capital · content

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. content — the amount
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. can — a tin
  14. tear — to rip
  15. content — happy
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bark — to shout
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. capital — money

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