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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 · tear · calf · staff · cold · row · key · leaves

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. staff — employees
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. key — for a lock
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. staff — employees
  8. band — a music group
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. key — in music
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. key — the most important part
  14. row — a line
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — to paddle
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. staff — a stick

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