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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 120 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 · chair · cap · lie · club · bark

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. 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. club — for golf
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cap — a hat
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lie — to recline
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cap — a lid
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. club — a group
  18. 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