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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: rule · spring · band · racket · tear · bark

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — from crying
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a music group
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — government
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rule — a law
  18. bark — of a tree

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