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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: object · scale · race · tear · band · chest · charge · straw

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. object — to protest
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. object — a thing
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — the arms race
  8. scale — size or range
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chest — a box
  13. object — an aim
  14. charge — electricity
  15. scale — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. race — humankind
  18. band — a ring
  19. tear — to rip
  20. race — a contest
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — in control
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. charge — a price

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