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

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. face — to confront
  3. hand — help
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. present — there
  8. band — a music group
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. date — the fruit
  11. present — the time now
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tube — a container
  15. tear — to rip
  16. hand — in cards
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. face — to point toward
  23. present — a gift
  24. face — part of the head

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