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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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. cap — a lid
  4. band — a ring
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — for sport
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a hat
  16. sharp — clever
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — of a king
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — to rip
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — a box

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