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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. shower — rain
  19. wake — a trail
  20. band — a music group
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. band — a ring
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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