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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pop — music
  18. march — music
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — an illness
  23. squash — the sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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