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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kick — in football
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — a city
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. capital — money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pass — a permit
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kick — with a leg

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