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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: bowl · mate · ground · fall · band · toast · cue · tear

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  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 ring
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cue — for pool
  8. ground — a position
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — crushed
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. ground — the earth
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cue — a signal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — a friend
  20. band — a music group
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cue — a hint
  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