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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a music group
  4. tube — the underground
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pop — soda
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pop — to visit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tube — a container
  21. pop — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — a line
  24. date — on the calendar

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