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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. swing — music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. band — a music group
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rule — a law
  16. hand — help
  17. swing — in golf
  18. staff — employees
  19. rule — government
  20. bark — to shout
  21. staff — employees
  22. band — a ring
  23. swing — to play on
  24. hand — part of the body

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