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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. last — final
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. lean — thin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — a weight
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bound — obliged
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. last — to go on
  16. craft — boats
  17. bound — tied together
  18. tear — to rip
  19. last — finally
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bound — certain
  22. face — part of the head
  23. craft — a skill
  24. face — to confront

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