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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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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: wound · pound · mate · bark · drill · lie · tear · cue

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cue — a hint
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cue — for pool
  13. drill — army training
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — to shout
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mate — to breed
  24. tear — to rip

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