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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: tear · band · rule · fork · racket · hide

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rule — government
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. band — a music group
  8. rule — a law
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. fork — in a road
  13. tear — from crying
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a ring

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