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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: tear · mine · charge · hand · track · bark

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. mine — for digging
  3. charge — in control
  4. track — a path
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. track — to keep track
  7. charge — electricity
  8. tear — to rip
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — help
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — in cards
  16. charge — a price
  17. bark — of a tree
  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