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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. land — ground
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — to go on
  9. band — a ring
  10. bank — for money
  11. land — a country
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. staff — a stick
  15. land — to come down
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. staff — employees
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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