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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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468
Word bank
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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a ring
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. race — humankind
  6. perch — the fish
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. band — a music group
  21. tear — to rip
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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