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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. club — a group
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bark — to shout
  12. branch — a division
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for golf
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lie — an untruth

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