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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. band — a ring
  3. rule — a law
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lie — to recline
  10. band — a music group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — army training
  14. shower — to wash
  15. row — a line
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. row — to paddle
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. row — a quarrel

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