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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 116 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: last · swing · fall · content · mark · band · craft · tear

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — to drop
  6. last — finally
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mark — a trace
  9. last — to go on
  10. band — a music group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — to play on
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. craft — a skill
  15. last — final
  16. band — a ring
  17. content — happy
  18. mark — a grade
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. swing — music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. craft — boats

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