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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — the month
  5. chest — a box
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. march — music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. sharp — clever

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