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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · field · tear · shower · object · staff · chest · game

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. chest — a box
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. tear — from crying
  9. field — farmland
  10. tear — to rip
  11. game — a match
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — a stick
  17. band — a ring
  18. object — to protest
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. tear — from crying
  22. staff — employees
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — wild animals

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