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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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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 · bat · kick · land · firm · content · cap · stand

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — a lid
  3. land — a country
  4. stand — to bear
  5. content — happy
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. content — the amount
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — a company
  12. land — to come down
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. land — ground
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. firm — decided
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — in football
  24. cap — of ice

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