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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: arm · tear · sharp · bear · capital · roll · ground · court

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. roll — a list
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. ground — a position
  6. bear — the animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — of a king
  13. bear — the animal
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. capital — money
  16. tear — to rip
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. court — of law
  19. ground — the earth
  20. court — for sport
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. ground — crushed

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