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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — hurry
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. track — a song
  13. roll — a cake
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. track — a path
  19. roll — a list
  20. band — a music group
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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