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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: racket · capital · firm · bear · hide · wound · stem · pound

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bear — the animal
  4. firm — a company
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. firm — steady
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — a city
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. capital — money
  19. firm — decided
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stem — of a plant

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