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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — from crying
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lean — to bend
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. lean — thin
  22. sharp — clever
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bark — of a tree

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