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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. tear — from crying
  2. drill — the tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. bound — obliged
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. band — a ring
  7. season — in sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. drill — a practice
  10. season — of the year
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — to rip
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. object — a thing
  17. drill — army training
  18. bound — tied together
  19. object — an aim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — final
  22. bound — certain
  23. object — to protest
  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