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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. firm — a company
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. band — a music group
  6. firm — steady
  7. charge — in control
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — to cut
  10. swing — in golf
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. club — for dancing
  13. kid — child
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a ring
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. charge — electricity
  18. swing — music
  19. club — a group
  20. swing — to play on
  21. club — for golf
  22. firm — decided
  23. charge — a price
  24. clip — a video

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