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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. plane — a tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — a group
  9. court — of a king
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. club — for dancing
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. club — for golf
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. file — a document
  22. bark — to shout
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. file — a line of people

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