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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — army training
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. content — the amount
  8. bark — to shout
  9. tear — to rip
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. content — happy
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. content — videos and posts

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