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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rest — a break
  9. can — to be able to
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. tear — to rip
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. stem — to come from
  19. tear — from crying
  20. can — a tin
  21. rest — what's left
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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