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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. mate — to breed
  3. shower — rain
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mate — a friend
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. shower — to wash
  16. band — a music group
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a ring

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