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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — for sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. hand — help
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. current — electric
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. court — of law
  14. present — the time now
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. court — of a king
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a music group
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. safe — out of danger

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