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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 116 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: bass · mark · bank · spring · rule · bark · field · tear

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rule — government
  6. bank — for money
  7. mark — a grade
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — a law
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bank — of a river
  12. tear — to rip
  13. field — a subject
  14. spring — of water
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — the season
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — for sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rule — to rule out

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