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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. march — the month
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — thin
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mug — a face
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — to rob
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. march — music
  18. mug — a cup
  19. plane — a tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. tear — from crying

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