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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a ring
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mark — a grade
  22. tear — from crying
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — to turn a key

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