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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: band · fine · straw · bear · tear · lash · craft · chest

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. craft — boats
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. fine — all right
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. craft — a skill
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. band — a ring
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — the animal

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