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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. shower — rain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — a box
  24. stem — to come from

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