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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. bear — the animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bear — the animal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bark — to shout
  11. degree — an amount
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cap — of ice
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. shower — rain

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