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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bulb — for light
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tear — from crying
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — decided
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. scale — in music
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. scale — size or range

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