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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a music group
  3. track — a path
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — a video
  6. band — a ring
  7. shower — rain
  8. track — a song
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. track — to keep track
  17. shower — to wash
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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