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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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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: stick · spell · lash · chest · march · cap · hide · band

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cap — a hat
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — a box
  5. band — a music group
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. spell — a short time
  9. march — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — of ice
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. march — the month
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. band — a ring
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cap — a lid
  24. chest — of your body

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