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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: stem · bowl · chest · band · rush · tear · wind · pass

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. band — a ring
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. stem — to come from
  18. band — a music group
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bowl — a football final

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