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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. lie — to recline
  3. field — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bark — to shout
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. hand — help
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. field — farmland
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pound — for dogs

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