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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — to confront
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. face — to point toward
  11. track — a song
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. track — a path
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. face — part of the head
  21. suit — to fit
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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