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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spell — letters
  6. band — a ring
  7. tube — a container
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. band — a music group
  11. rock — music
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. perch — the fish
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to click
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tube — the underground

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