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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. swing — in golf
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — in sport
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. net — after costs
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. band — a ring
  21. capital — money
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — a city

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