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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: bark · land · deal · tear · hide · season · chest · jam

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — of the year
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — to come down
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. deal — to handle
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bark — to shout
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. season — in sport
  24. jam — a tight spot

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