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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: tear · band · board · leaves · squash · drill · cold · charge

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. 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. band — a music group
  2. tear — to rip
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. board — a committee
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — an illness
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cold — not warm
  13. charge — in control
  14. drill — a practice
  15. band — a ring
  16. drill — army training
  17. board — to get on
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. charge — a price
  20. squash — to crush
  21. drill — the tool
  22. squash — the sport
  23. charge — electricity
  24. 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