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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 116 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: capital · hand · bear · field · dip · tear · mouse · ground

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. field — farmland
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. capital — a city
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. field — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — a position
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. capital — money
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — in cards
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ground — the earth
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. hand — help

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