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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 · spring · straw · band · bound · lie · charge · bear

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bear — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. charge — a price
  8. band — a music group
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chest — of your body
  16. charge — in control
  17. bound — obliged
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spring — the season
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bound — certain
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. bound — tied together

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