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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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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: squash · bark · cue · bear · tear · rush · rest · pound

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bear — to put up with

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