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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — to shout
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. scale — size or range
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. scale — in music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — rain
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mate — a friend
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mate — to breed
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kid — child

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