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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. charge — a price
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. lean — thin
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. charge — electricity
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lean — to bend
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — to shout
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — from crying
  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