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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: cap · bark · prune · pound · foot · saw · temple · tear

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. tear — from crying
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. tear — from crying
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cap — a hat
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pound — for dogs

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