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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · track · tear · bound · arm · bass · wound · straw

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wound — an injury
  4. track — a path
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bound — obliged
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chest — a box
  18. track — a song
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — certain
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. arm — a part of something

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