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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. band — a music group
  3. hand — in cards
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rest — what's left
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — farmland
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a ring
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. field — a subject
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — help
  18. field — for sport
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. rest — a break

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