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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a ring
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mug — to rob
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — final
  14. band — a music group
  15. mug — a face
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. rash — a series
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. capital — a city
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cabinet — ministers

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