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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. staff — employees
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. sharp — clever
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. staff — employees
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mark — a grade
  19. staff — a stick
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rash — a series

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