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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. band — a music group
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tube — a container
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. band — a ring
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. march — music
  15. object — a thing
  16. tube — the underground
  17. march — the month
  18. object — to protest
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. object — an aim
  21. tear — from crying
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. toast — bread
  24. toast — the most admired

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