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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: straw · hide · lean · bear · band · field · present · tube

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. present — a gift
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. present — there
  7. field — a subject
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. present — the time now
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a ring
  16. lean — to bend
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. lean — thin
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. field — farmland
  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