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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. game — wild animals
  6. content — the amount
  7. drill — the tool
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. drill — a practice
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. drill — army training
  19. spell — magic
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a match
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. content — happy
  24. spell — letters

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