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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ground — a position
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. staff — a stick
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hand — help
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. staff — employees
  10. ground — the earth
  11. vault — a safe
  12. hand — in cards
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. band — a ring
  15. ground — crushed
  16. staff — employees
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. straw — dry grass

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