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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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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: stick · last · mark · land · tear · deal · band · board

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. last — final
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. land — to come down
  5. mark — a grade
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — to handle
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. land — a country
  18. last — finally
  19. board — a committee
  20. tear — to rip
  21. band — a ring
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. board — to get on
  24. band — a music group

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