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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. land — ground
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. root — of a word
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. snap — to click
  20. root — the cause
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bark — to shout
  24. land — to come down

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