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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. plane — a tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. drill — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. staff — employees
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tear — to rip
  20. drill — army training
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. band — a music group

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