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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lie — to recline
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stock — goods
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. stock — shares
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bark — to shout
  24. dip — to sink

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