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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bank — of a river
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. degree — an amount
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lean — to bend
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. stem — to come from
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. degree — temperature

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