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

Word bank: mine · lie · tear · club · fork · cap · band · pitcher

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. club — a group
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cap — a hat
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — of ice
  14. club — for golf
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. band — a ring
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — for dancing
  21. fork — in a road
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. lie — an untruth

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