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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: stand · bark · season · wind · object · tear · tube · spring

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. wind — moving air
  4. object — an aim
  5. season — of the year
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — a coil
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spring — of water
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. tube — a container
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — to protest

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