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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
468
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: racket · wound · season · leaves · bark · last · staff · tear

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. last — finally
  3. season — of the year
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. staff — a stick
  9. last — final
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — employees
  20. last — to go on
  21. staff — employees
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. season — to add flavour

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