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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bound — obliged
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. drill — the tool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. drill — army training
  11. cell — in biology
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — a phone
  14. tear — from crying
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bound — certain
  19. bark — to shout
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. prune — to trim

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