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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tear — from crying
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bulb — for light
  12. swing — to play on
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. swing — in golf
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. swing — music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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