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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. band — a music group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — ground
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — to come down
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — a country
  19. scale — in music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. band — a ring
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a rubber band

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