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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: swing · wake · tear · fork · band · lie · bulb · ground

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ground — a position
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — music
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a music group
  22. ground — crushed
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. swing — to play on

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