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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 120 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: cabinet · wound · stand · march · tear · band · straw · lie

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a ring
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. march — music
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. lie — to recline
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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