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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — there
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bark — to shout
  12. snap — to click
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. present — the time now
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. row — a line
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wax — to grow
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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