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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a ring
  4. tube — a container
  5. present — the time now
  6. craft — a skill
  7. press — to push
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tube — the underground
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. march — music
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. present — there
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. march — the month
  17. press — a publisher
  18. present — a gift
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. craft — boats
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — the month
  24. mine — for digging

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