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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — moving air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pop — music
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — the season
  12. pop — soda
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pop — to visit
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spring — a coil
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. tear — to rip
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitcher — a jug

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