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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — finally
  3. lean — to bend
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lean — thin
  8. hand — help
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. last — to go on
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. last — final
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stand — to bear
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. band — a music group
  23. snap — to click
  24. hand — in cards

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