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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tear — to rip
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rule — government
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — a law
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. band — a music group
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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