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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: straw · band · bank · cap · foot · hide · tear · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bank — for money
  6. band — a ring
  7. bank — for money
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cap — of ice
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bank — of a river
  17. tear — to rip
  18. band — a music group
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bulb — for light
  24. foot — the bottom

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