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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cue — a signal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — a video
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cue — a hint
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cue — for pool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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