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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. club — for dancing
  5. lean — thin
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. band — a music group
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cell — a phone
  16. band — a ring
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tear — to rip
  20. club — a group
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. club — for golf
  24. lean — to bend

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