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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to click
  19. kid — child
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spring — the season

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