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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: band · firm · drill · squash · tear · chest · pit · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chest — a box
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. firm — steady
  5. drill — army training
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pit — in a race
  11. band — a ring
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tear — to rip
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. firm — a company
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pit — a hole
  23. drill — a practice
  24. firm — decided

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