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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rush — hurry
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitch — completely
  11. fine — high quality
  12. content — happy
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fine — all right
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitch — a sports field

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