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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — in football
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mate — a friend
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mate — a partner
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mate — to breed
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tear — to rip
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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