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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. key — for a lock
  3. present — the time now
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a line
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. row — to paddle
  17. present — there
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. present — a gift
  22. court — of a king
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — an illness

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