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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. file — a tool
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — certain
  8. wake — a trail
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bound — obliged
  11. snap — to click
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — for sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. file — a document
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. court — of a king
  22. tear — from crying
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. court — of law

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