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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — to rip
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bark — to shout
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. face — to confront
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — an illness
  24. can — a tin

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