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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 · bat · calf · tear · roll · firm · dip · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a music group
  3. roll — a list
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — steady
  9. roll — a cake
  10. band — a ring
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bat — the animal
  15. firm — decided
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. chest — a box
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tear — from crying

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