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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: wake · band · land · stick · pit · last · tear · present

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. tear — to rip
  4. last — to go on
  5. present — there
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — finally
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — in a race
  11. land — a country
  12. present — a gift
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. last — final
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wake — a trail
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. land — to come down
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pit — a hole
  22. land — ground
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — the time now

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