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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 120 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: spell · firm · cold · bound · cap · tear · shower · band

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — to wash
  3. firm — decided
  4. bound — obliged
  5. firm — steady
  6. band — a music group
  7. bound — tied together
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cap — of ice
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bound — certain
  14. firm — a company
  15. cap — a lid
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. band — a ring
  19. spell — letters
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cold — an illness

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