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

Word bank: pitch · last · tear · band · bank · rest

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. last — to go on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rest — a break
  7. band — a ring
  8. last — finally
  9. bank — for money
  10. band — a music group
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — from crying

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