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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rock — music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. key — the most important part
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — a country
  13. key — in music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rock — a stone
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spring — of water
  21. bark — to shout
  22. land — to come down
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rock — to move gently

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