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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spell — magic
  5. wake — a trail
  6. land — ground
  7. bore — to tire
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. spell — letters
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. band — a music group
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spell — a short time

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