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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mate — to breed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mate — a partner
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tear — to rip
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — a video
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lie — to recline
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. lie — an untruth

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