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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: bound · arm · bear · capital · pitcher · tear · mate · lash

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. capital — a city
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bound — tied together
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — certain
  12. bear — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mate — a partner
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tear — to rip
  24. arm — a part of something

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