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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. date — the fruit
  9. sharp — clever
  10. lie — to recline
  11. tear — from crying
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. field — a subject
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — farmland
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — from crying
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — for sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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