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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: tear · bark · face · dip · mouse · pound · kid · field

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — farmland
  13. face — to point toward
  14. kid — child
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. face — to confront
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — for sport

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