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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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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: tear · deal · pound · cell · band · bark · suit · content

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. content — happy
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — in cards
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. suit — clothes
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — the amount
  24. deal — to handle

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