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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fine — high quality
  9. lie — to recline
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kid — child
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. fine — all right
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — part of the body

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