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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 120 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: chest · bear · tube · spring · ruler · tear · straw · mark

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spring — of water
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — a container
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tear — to rip
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. spring — the season
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ruler — for measuring

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