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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rock — a stone
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. game — a match
  7. rock — music
  8. band — a music group
  9. bass — the fish
  10. band — a ring
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bass — low music
  17. row — a line
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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