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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bear — the animal
  10. craft — a skill
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — in golf
  13. craft — boats
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — a city
  16. swing — to play on
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. spell — letters
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. hand — in cards

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