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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bark — to shout
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tear — from crying
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — music
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cold — an illness
  13. toast — bread
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. roll — a cake
  16. tear — from crying
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pop — soda
  22. roll — a list
  23. pop — to visit
  24. date — on the calendar

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