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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — obliged
  6. season — in sport
  7. content — happy
  8. bound — certain
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. drill — army training
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. drill — a practice
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tear — from crying
  23. season — of the year
  24. drill — the tool

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