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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: tear · bat · bore · club · ruler · bark · ground · chair

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bore — to drill
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. club — for golf
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. club — a group
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. chair — to sit on

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