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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a music group
  3. branch — a division
  4. content — the amount
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. present — a gift
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. drill — a practice
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — the tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — for digging
  17. content — happy
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. present — there
  22. drill — army training
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. present — the time now

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