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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. lean — to bend
  3. drill — the tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. drill — army training
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lean — thin
  16. band — a ring
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. drill — a practice

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