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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pound — a weight
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. plane — a tool
  11. land — a country
  12. last — finally
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bark — to shout
  16. land — ground
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. last — final
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — to go on
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. plane — an aircraft

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