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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: bound · fan · tear · hide · prune · row · straw · chest

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. row — to paddle
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bound — tied together
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. row — a line
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chest — a box
  19. bound — obliged
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tear — from crying
  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