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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: ground · kid · mug · bark · stock · present · pitcher · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. present — there
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — child
  8. mug — to rob
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mug — a cup
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mug — a face
  19. present — a gift
  20. stock — goods
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitcher — a jug

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