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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kid — child
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fall — the season
  18. sharp — clever
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — to shout

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