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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a ring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — a stone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — in music
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rock — music

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