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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. band — a music group
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. band — a ring
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cue — a signal
  15. stock — shares
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool

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