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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hand — help
  8. bark — to shout
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. season — of the year
  13. shower — rain
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bear — the animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. sharp — exactly

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