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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 · racket · hand · tear · stick · land · scale · mouse

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. tear — to rip
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — to shout
  13. land — ground
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. land — a country
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. scale — size or range

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