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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. land — to come down
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bark — to shout
  6. band — a music group
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. chest — a box
  11. bulb — for light
  12. track — a path
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. tear — from crying
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. stand — to bear
  20. land — a country
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — a song
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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