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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.

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

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. march — the month
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mug — a cup
  8. land — ground
  9. tear — to rip
  10. land — a country
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bark — to shout
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — to rob
  15. march — music
  16. snap — to click
  17. mug — a face
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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