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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. face — to point toward
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. row — to paddle
  5. suit — in cards
  6. tear — to rip
  7. march — music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a line
  13. face — part of the head
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. march — the month
  16. face — to confront
  17. band — a ring
  18. suit — clothes
  19. band — a music group
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. suit — to fit
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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