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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. spell — letters
  3. can — a tin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a dance
  6. spell — magic
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. can — a tin
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — from crying
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bat — the animal

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