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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. plane — a tool
  9. last — final
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cell — a phone
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. band — a music group
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — child
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. last — finally
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in biology
  23. last — to go on
  24. mouse — the animal

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