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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. scale — in music
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. scale — size or range
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. band — a ring
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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