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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 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cap — of ice
  6. swing — in golf
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. swing — to play on
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a lid
  16. swing — music
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal

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