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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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. band — a rubber band
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — final
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kid — to tease
  11. firm — a company
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. firm — decided
  14. last — finally
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. stock — goods
  17. clip — for paper
  18. last — to go on
  19. band — a ring
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. firm — steady
  22. stock — shares
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cabinet — ministers

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