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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rush — hurry
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — a subject
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. field — farmland
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spell — letters
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. field — for sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a music group
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. band — a ring
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — magic

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