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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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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: tear · hide · staff · key · band · content · date · row

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — to rip
  3. date — the fruit
  4. band — a ring
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. staff — employees
  10. tear — from crying
  11. key — the most important part
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. band — a music group
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — a line
  18. content — happy
  19. key — for a lock
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tear — from crying
  22. key — in music
  23. staff — a stick
  24. row — to paddle

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