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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. file — a tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hand — help
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. file — a document
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rash — hasty
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rash — a series
  24. bowl — a dish

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