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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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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: rule · pitcher · spring · game · bear · tear · hand · trunk

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rule — government
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — help
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rule — a law
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spring — the season
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spring — of water
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. tear — from crying
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. game — a match

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