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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. can — to be able to
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. object — to protest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. object — a thing
  11. chair — a leader
  12. object — an aim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a music group
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. can — a tin
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spring — a coil

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