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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: fall · jam · tear · band · shower · chest · row · lash

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. shower — rain
  7. chest — of your body
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. row — to paddle
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. band — a music group
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — to wash
  20. row — a line
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. band — a ring
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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