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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. band — a ring
  3. swing — to play on
  4. present — the time now
  5. last — to go on
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. last — final
  10. swing — music
  11. tube — a container
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. present — a gift
  20. swing — in golf
  21. present — there
  22. file — a tool
  23. tube — the underground
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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