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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: tear · net · season · drill · game · last · bark · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. last — to go on
  5. season — in sport
  6. game — a match
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. drill — army training
  9. last — finally
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — to rip
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. drill — the tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — final
  21. drill — a practice
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — to shout
  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