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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mate — a friend
  11. season — of the year
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bark — to shout
  18. season — in sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. cap — a hat

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