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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. roll — a list
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bore — to drill
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. roll — a cake
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. rush — hurry
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bore — to tire
  21. march — music
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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