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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. dip — to sink
  9. present — the time now
  10. last — to go on
  11. game — a match
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. last — final
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. present — a gift
  19. club — for dancing
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. last — finally
  22. present — there
  23. band — a ring
  24. club — for golf

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