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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kid — child
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mate — to breed
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rush — hurry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. band — a music group
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — to tease

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