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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — to shout
  4. season — of the year
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tear — to rip
  9. charge — a price
  10. root — of a word
  11. season — in sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. mine — for digging
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. band — a ring
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. band — a music group
  22. charge — in control
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. root — of a plant

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