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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. band — a ring
  3. bound — certain
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stock — shares
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bound — obliged
  8. stock — goods
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. band — a music group
  11. present — a gift
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tear — to rip
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. bound — tied together

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