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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bat — the animal
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. band — a ring
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. band — a music group
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. sharp — clever
  23. net — in sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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