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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: tear · face · band · cabinet · mark · season · file · sharp

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. mark — a grade
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a music group
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mark — a trace
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — to point toward
  16. sharp — clever
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. season — of the year
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. season — in sport
  23. file — a document
  24. mark — to pay attention

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