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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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Word bank
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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: foot · tear · cold · saw · band · lash · jam · fan

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. band — a music group
  6. tear — to rip
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cold — not warm
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. band — a ring
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. saw — the tool
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. lash — an eyelash

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