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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: staff · wake · chest · wind · band · tear

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. staff — employees
  10. band — a ring
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — a stick
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — to rip

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