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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 116 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pound — a weight
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a committee
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — for sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rest — a break
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — farmland
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — for dogs

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