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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. swing — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bark — to shout
  9. present — the time now
  10. swing — to play on
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — a gift
  20. cold — not warm
  21. club — a group
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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