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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. band — a music group
  3. chest — a box
  4. charge — electricity
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. charge — in control
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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