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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bass — low music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. kid — child
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a ring

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