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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spell — a short time
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spell — magic
  8. bound — certain
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a ring
  11. race — a contest
  12. game — wild animals
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a music group
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. game — a match
  18. bound — tied together
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — obliged
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spell — letters

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