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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stock — shares
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bound — tied together
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stock — goods
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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