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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. suit — in cards
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — to wash
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — moving air
  12. suit — to fit
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — to go on
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. suit — clothes
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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