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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: hand · craft · fall · jam · rule · bear · last · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fall — the season
  9. hand — help
  10. band — a music group
  11. craft — a skill
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rule — a law
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bear — the animal
  21. last — final
  22. craft — boats
  23. rule — government
  24. craft — a handicraft

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