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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a music group
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. capital — money
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tear — to rip
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. band — a ring
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a city

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