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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rash — a series
  5. wound — an injury
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — hasty
  9. root — of a word
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. band — a music group
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. root — the cause
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — to trim
  18. root — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. band — a ring
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

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