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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. drill — army training
  5. can — a tin
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. shower — to wash
  8. band — a ring
  9. drill — the tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. can — to be able to
  16. tear — to rip
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. can — a tin
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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