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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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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 · land · present · drill · tear · foot · row · leaves

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — a country
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. drill — army training
  10. foot — a measure
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. drill — the tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. land — ground
  15. present — there
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — the time now
  18. band — a music group
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. land — to come down
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a line
  23. present — a gift
  24. drill — a practice

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