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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — for paper
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — a video
  11. chest — of your body
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chest — a box
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — for golf
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — of your body
  23. band — a music group
  24. rock — music

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