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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bass — the fish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. rule — a law
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. bass — low music
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rule — government
  20. tear — from crying
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bass — the instrument

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