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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. mug — a face
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mug — to rob
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kick — in football
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mug — a cup
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bulb — for light

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