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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: game · rash · bark · stick · wound · tear · spring · wave

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. spring — the season
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spring — of water
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — a match
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wound — an injury
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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