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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: tear · last · rash · fall · perch · content · fan · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. last — final
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — happy
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — to go on
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. content — the amount
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fall — the season
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fall — to drop

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