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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cell — in biology
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cue — a signal
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. mine — for digging
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cue — for pool
  24. hand — help

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