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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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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: tear · craft · season · row · cue · band · saw · bowl

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tear — to rip
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. row — a line
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. saw — the tool
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cue — for pool
  20. band — a music group
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. season — in sport
  23. craft — boats
  24. bowl — a football final

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