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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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Word bank
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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 · hand · cap · tear · tube · present · saw · bark

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. hand — in cards
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tube — a container
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cap — of ice
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. tube — the underground
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. tear — to rip
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bark — to shout
  23. present — the time now
  24. tube — in a tire

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