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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 116 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. season — in sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. season — of the year
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — a stone
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pound — a weight
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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