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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mine — for digging
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. scale — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tube — a container
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tube — the underground
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wound — an injury

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