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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: pound · straw · ruler · band · jam · chest · row · spring

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — a box
  4. spring — of water
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. band — a music group
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — the season
  9. row — to paddle
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — a weight
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. band — a ring
  16. row — a line
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. chest — of your body
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spring — a coil

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