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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 120 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spring — the season
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. root — of a plant
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cell — a phone
  11. root — the cause
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cell — in biology
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — of water
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. root — of a word
  23. perch — the fish
  24. tear — from crying

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