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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. band — a music group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. firm — decided
  6. band — a ring
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. game — a match
  11. club — a group
  12. firm — steady
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tube — a container
  22. game — wild animals
  23. club — for golf
  24. plane — a 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