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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pop — soda
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. board — a committee
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pop — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. scale — in music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — to visit
  19. board — to get on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — a trail

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