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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 · tear · cabinet · mine · wake · rash · hand · hide

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hand — help
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rash — a series
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — for digging

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