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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cue — a hint
  5. rock — music
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rock — a stone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a music group
  15. cue — a signal
  16. band — a ring
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chest — a box
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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