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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rule — government
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bank — for money
  24. drill — army training

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