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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — the tool
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — the animal
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. vault — a safe
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. capital — a city
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. dip — to dunk

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