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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a ring
  3. pop — music
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pop — to visit
  6. fine — all right
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fine — high quality
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pop — soda
  20. band — a music group
  21. wax — to grow
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a great time

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