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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. last — to go on
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. last — finally
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

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