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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: band · wind · last · tear · season · cell · club · calf

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. season — of the year
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tear — to rip
  5. season — in sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. club — for golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — to go on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. band — a ring
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. band — a music group
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. band — a rubber band

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