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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. pitch — completely
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. season — of the year
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. hand — help

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