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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: band · rest · pitcher · track · tear · wind · bear · bat

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. track — a path
  11. band — a music group
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — to rip
  19. track — a song
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — a break
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — to keep track

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