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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a music group
  4. mate — to breed
  5. spring — of water
  6. scale — in music
  7. band — a ring
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — a partner
  13. scale — size or range
  14. can — to be able to
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mate — a friend
  20. can — a tin
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — rain
  24. band — a rubber band

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