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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. roll — a cake
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fine — high quality
  9. tear — from crying
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a music group
  12. roll — a list
  13. fine — all right
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — child
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. field — farmland
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. field — for sport

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