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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 · court · toast · bark · mate · fall

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — for sport
  3. fall — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. toast — bread
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. toast — a drink to someone

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