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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. file — a tool
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a document
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. kid — to tease
  10. land — a country
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. land — ground
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — child
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. file — a line of people
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. land — to come down

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