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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 · roll · row · chest · stick · bark · lie · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chest — a box
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. roll — a list
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. lie — to recline
  23. tear — from crying
  24. row — a quarrel

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