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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: hide · row · board · band · leaves · tear · wake · snap

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. row — a line
  5. snap — to click
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wake — a trail
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. band — a music group
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a committee
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. row — to paddle
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. board — to get on

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