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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. shower — rain
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — newspapers
  8. band — a ring
  9. press — a publisher
  10. band — a music group
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — for paper
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. firm — decided
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. press — to push
  20. capital — money
  21. shower — to wash
  22. plane — a tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. firm — a company

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