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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: tear · field · plane · stick · spring · hide · bear · cap

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. field — for sport
  7. cap — a lid
  8. spring — of water
  9. bear — the animal
  10. field — farmland
  11. tear — to rip
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. plane — a tool
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — a subject
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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