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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: straw · bank · chest · key · band · bear · last · kid

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. band — a music group
  4. bank — for money
  5. chest — a box
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. key — for a lock
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. key — the most important part
  17. kid — child
  18. last — final
  19. bank — of a river
  20. band — a ring
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bank — for money
  23. key — in music
  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