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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. band — a music group
  7. rock — music
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. toast — bread
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a ring
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rock — a stone
  24. safe — a strongbox

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