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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. tear — from crying
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. club — for golf
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rock — music
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rock — a stone
  20. tear — to rip
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. club — a group

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