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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. track — to keep track
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. dip — to sink
  8. hand — in cards
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. track — a path
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. tear — to rip
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. track — a song
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — from crying
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. swing — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. hand — help

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