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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — the tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. object — an aim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pop — music
  17. drill — army training
  18. object — a thing
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pop — soda

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