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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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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: band · fall · bear · wound · face · bark · rush · saw

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a music group
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. fall — to drop
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fall — the season
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bear — the animal

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