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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hand — help
  4. band — a ring
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hand — in cards
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tear — to rip
  15. shower — rain
  16. season — in sport
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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