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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. lean — to bend
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. tube — a container
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bark — to shout
  20. spell — magic
  21. lean — thin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wave — of the sea

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