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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: mine · cap · tear · coach · file · content · bear · bound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — the amount
  5. tear — from crying
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cap — a lid
  9. file — a tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bear — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bound — certain
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bear — to put up with

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