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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 120 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. game — a match
  3. pop — soda
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pop — to visit
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pop — music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rest — what's left
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rest — a break
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tube — a container
  24. tear — from crying

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