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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · present · row · tear · cap · snap

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — of ice
  4. row — a line
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — to rip
  11. snap — to click
  12. bark — to shout
  13. present — a gift
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a hat
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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