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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tube — a container
  3. bark — to shout
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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