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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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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: chest · fall · suit · bound · bark · tear · object · saw

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. tear — from crying
  5. object — to protest
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. suit — to fit
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bound — obliged
  10. suit — clothes
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bound — tied together
  14. fall — to drop
  15. suit — in cards
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. chest — a box
  19. bound — certain
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — to shout

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