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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: tear · pass · chest · stem · bay · band

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a music group
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. tear — from crying
  16. band — a ring
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stem — of a plant

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