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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. season — of the year
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chest — of your body
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitch — completely
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. season — in sport

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