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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 116 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: chair · shower · band · present · deal · tear · land · can

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. can — a tin
  3. shower — rain
  4. tear — from crying
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. shower — to wash
  8. can — a tin
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. land — to come down
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. can — to be able to
  17. land — ground
  18. band — a ring
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. present — the time now
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. land — a country

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