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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pass — a permit
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. ground — crushed
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. vault — a safe

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