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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ground — a position
  3. rush — hurry
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. shower — rain
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ground — crushed
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — the earth
  18. plane — a tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. saw — the tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tear — from crying
  24. coach — a trainer

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