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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. shower — to wash
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bark — to shout
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. race — humankind
  13. cell — in biology
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — rain
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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