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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: wind · saw · last · bay · tear · bark · cue · fan

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. 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. bark — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cue — for pool
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cue — a signal
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bark — to shout
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cue — a hint
  22. tear — to rip
  23. last — to go on
  24. 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