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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tear — to rip
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — to shout
  15. march — music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kid — to tease
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — clever
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kid — child
  24. march — the month

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