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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rock — music
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pop — soda
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pop — music
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — a stone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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