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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lie · ruler · tear · clip · band · cold

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — a video
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a music group
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — for paper

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