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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spring — of water
  7. object — an aim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. last — finally
  17. tear — to rip
  18. object — to protest
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. object — a thing
  21. band — a music group
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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