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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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. drill — a practice
  4. key — for a lock
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. drill — army training
  9. squash — to crush
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rock — music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — the tool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. key — the most important part
  17. craft — boats
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. key — in music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rock — a stone
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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