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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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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: spring · rule · prune · mate · tear · chair · cap · bark

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spring — the season
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mate — a friend
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — of water
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cap — a lid
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cap — a hat
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rule — government
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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