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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. tube — a container
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. drill — a practice
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. lie — to recline
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — a division
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wax — to grow
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. face — part of the head
  24. drill — the tool

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