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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. band — a music group
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. staff — employees
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a hat
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cap — of ice
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bark — of a tree

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