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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. last — to go on
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — finally
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. pit — in a race
  13. last — final
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rest — a break
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lean — thin
  24. tear — to rip

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