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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bound — obliged
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. vault — a safe
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. branch — a division
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bound — certain
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. game — a match

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