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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · tear · stand · spring · last · date · bark · lie

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — of water
  4. date — the fruit
  5. lie — to recline
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — final
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. land — to come down
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. land — a country
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. land — ground
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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