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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · tear · bark · game · wound · can · band · object

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. band — a music group
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. object — a thing
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. object — to protest
  8. band — a ring
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wound — an injury
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — from crying
  19. object — an aim
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — a match
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bark — to shout

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