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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bore — to drill
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. last — finally
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. perch — the fish
  24. hide — animal skin

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