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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. snap — to click
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rush — hurry
  9. band — a music group
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. hand — help
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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