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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: shower · hand · board · key · rule · tear · roll · band

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. key — the most important part
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — a committee
  8. roll — a list
  9. tear — from crying
  10. shower — rain
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. board — to get on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — to wash
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. rule — government
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. band — a ring
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. rule — a law
  24. roll — a cake

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