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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tear — to rip
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — hasty
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wake — a trail
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. board — a committee
  13. band — a ring
  14. rash — a series
  15. tear — from crying
  16. band — a music group
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. board — to get on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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