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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. roll — a list
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bass — the fish
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bass — low music
  10. roll — a cake
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bark — to shout
  13. last — to go on
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. capital — money
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bat — the animal

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