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

Word bank: patient · tear · march · rule · bark · roll

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — a list
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — to shout
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — music

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