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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: march · tear · fan · fall · straw · racket · band · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. march — the month
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — to rip
  15. march — music
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fall — the season
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. march — the month
  24. fall — to drop

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