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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rock — a stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rock — music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bass — low music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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