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

Word bank: band · racket · race · lie · straw · tear

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. band — a music group
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. tear — from crying
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. lie — to recline
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. race — a contest
  17. tear — to rip
  18. lie — an untruth

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