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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 120 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bore — to tire
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rash — a series

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