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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: club · tear · bark · game · jam · bay · kid · date

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kid — child
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. date — the fruit
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. club — for golf
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. tear — to rip
  24. club — a group

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