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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pop — to visit
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. march — the month
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. band — a ring
  21. pop — soda
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. band — a music group
  24. jam — in traffic

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