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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. scale — in music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. court — of law
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — size or range
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — to fit
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. suit — in cards
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. court — for sport
  23. tear — to rip
  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