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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — crushed
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mine — for digging
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a ring
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. ground — a position
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ground — the earth
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mine — an explosive

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