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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: rest · row · tear · season · racket · kid

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — a line
  4. rest — a break
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — from crying
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rest — what's left
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. season — of the year
  17. kid — to tease
  18. row — to paddle

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