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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: drill · tear · spring · hand · date · band · board · bulb

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. board — a committee
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. board — to get on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bulb — for light
  10. band — a music group
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spring — a coil
  13. band — a ring
  14. hand — in cards
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — army training
  19. hand — help
  20. tear — to rip
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spring — the season
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. drill — the tool

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