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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 116 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: chair · rule · bore · lash · tear · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rule — a law
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bore — to tire
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. season — in sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bore — to drill
  13. rule — government
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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