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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — to rip
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bound — certain
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pitcher — a jug

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