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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: rule · last · stem · racket · bark · tear · file · lean

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. rule — government
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. file — a document
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. last — final
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a tool
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rule — a law
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — to come from
  24. file — a line of people

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