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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. drill — a practice
  5. content — the amount
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rest — a break
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a music group
  15. drill — army training
  16. ground — a position
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a ring
  21. drill — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. content — happy
  24. saw — the tool

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