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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: rest · bark · toast · field · racket · tear

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. rest — a break
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. rest — what's left
  9. field — for sport
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tear — to rip
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. toast — bread
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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