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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — the animal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. net — in sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bark — to shout
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bank — of a river

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