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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: tear · bark · coach · mark · bore · roll · bat · present

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. tear — to rip
  6. present — a gift
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bore — to tire
  11. present — there
  12. bore — to drill
  13. present — the time now
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. roll — a list
  20. mark — a grade
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bat — the animal

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