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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — the animal
  3. band — a music group
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bore — to tire
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — to breed
  24. tear — to rip

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