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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. object — an aim
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. last — final
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — to go on
  15. object — to protest
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. object — a thing
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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