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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — a gift
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. present — the time now
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rock — a stone
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. present — there
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — the underground
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cap — a hat
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tube — a container
  24. nail — for a hammer

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