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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wind — moving air
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — for catching
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. net — in sport
  15. perch — the fish
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cell — in biology
  22. net — after costs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mark — a trace

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