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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. foot — a measure
  6. snap — to click
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bark — to shout
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. tear — from crying
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. tube — a container

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