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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — finally
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cue — a hint
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cue — a signal
  10. last — final
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cue — for pool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. last — to go on
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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