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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: spell · straw · tear · bound · cap · chest · bass · rush

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — a box
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bound — tied together
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bound — obliged
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bound — certain
  21. tear — to rip
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. chest — of your body

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