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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rush — hurry
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. chest — a box
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. band — a music group
  18. cell — a phone
  19. game — a match
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. prune — to trim

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