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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: rock · pop · snap · cap · tear · bark · ruler · cold

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pop — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. pop — soda
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. rock — music
  17. snap — to click
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — to visit
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. ruler — for measuring

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