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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 · fall · kid · cap · bound · straw · stem · stick

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. 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. bound — tied together
  2. fall — the season
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — child
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cap — a hat
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fall — to drop
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a music group
  16. cap — of ice
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kid — to tease
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stem — to come from
  23. band — a ring
  24. 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