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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: nail · spell · band · stick · straw · racket · tear · chair

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — from crying
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — letters
  15. band — a music group
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. band — a ring
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. straw — dry grass

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