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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fall — the season
  3. press — to push
  4. drill — army training
  5. last — final
  6. band — a music group
  7. last — to go on
  8. drill — a practice
  9. charge — electricity
  10. current — happening now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fall — to drop
  14. current — electric
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. drill — the tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. tear — to rip
  20. current — of water
  21. tear — from crying
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — from crying
  24. press — newspapers

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