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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bulb — for light
  7. season — of the year
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. face — to confront
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — to point toward
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. season — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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