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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: safe · kid · drill · root · lie · band · straw · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lie — to recline
  4. root — of a word
  5. band — a music group
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a ring
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. drill — the tool
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. chest — a box

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