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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — to cut
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — a video
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. club — for golf
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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