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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. face — to confront
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. club — a group
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — an injury
  10. foot — a measure
  11. bark — to shout
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — music
  15. face — part of the head
  16. club — for dancing
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. club — for golf
  19. march — the month
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. tear — from crying
  24. foot — part of the body

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