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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. band — a ring
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — to come from
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ruler — for measuring

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