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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fall — the season
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — wild animals
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. snap — to click
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — to shout

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