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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: mate · tear · rest · chest · bark · march · fall · mine

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. chest — a box
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mate — a friend
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rest — a break
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. fall — the season
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mate — a partner
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fall — to drop

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