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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. band — a ring
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. suit — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a song
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. suit — to fit
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. band — a music group
  22. suit — clothes
  23. hand — in cards
  24. track — a path

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