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

Word bank: band · perch · dip · rule · chest · tear

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rule — government
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. band — a ring
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. tear — from crying
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rule — a law
  13. band — a music group
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tear — to rip
  18. dip — to sink

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