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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 120 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: bark · bear · ball · snap · tear · foot · leaves · spring

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bear — the animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bear — the animal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. snap — to click
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spring — of water
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spring — the season
  24. tear — from crying

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