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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — a contest
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. can — a tin
  16. mine — for digging
  17. can — to be able to
  18. band — a ring
  19. key — in music
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. fork — in a road

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