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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. staff — employees
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mark — a grade
  13. net — in sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cell — a phone
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wind — moving air

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