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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 116 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitch — completely
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. band — a music group
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. band — a ring
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. face — part of the head
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. face — to point toward
  24. land — ground

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