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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: cold · bark · tear · rule · deal · leaves

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — to rip

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