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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: bark · arm · lean · temple · tear · cold · cap · lie

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cap — a lid
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. lean — thin
  17. cap — a hat
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lie — to recline
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. lean — to bend
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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