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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. stand — to bear
  5. band — a music group
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. degree — temperature
  10. can — a tin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. can — to be able to
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tear — to rip
  20. can — a tin
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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