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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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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: bear · pop · bark · chest · firm · hand · spell · tear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — a company
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — help
  14. spell — a short time
  15. hand — in cards
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. firm — decided
  19. spell — letters
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. spell — magic
  23. chest — a box
  24. firm — steady

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