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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mark — a grade
  3. shower — rain
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tear — to rip
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bark — to shout
  9. field — a subject
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cue — a hint
  13. field — for sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — farmland
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mark — a trace
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a signal

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