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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rest — a break
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rest — what's left
  5. firm — steady
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. snap — to click
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a ring
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — decided

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