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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. land — ground
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. land — a country
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tube — a container
  21. wake — a trail
  22. tear — to rip
  23. land — to come down
  24. game — a match

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