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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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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tear — from crying
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. band — a ring
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fall — the season
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. band — a music group
  20. pound — a weight
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fan — a supporter

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