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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bound — certain
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. file — a tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tube — a container
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wound — an injury
  16. file — a document
  17. firm — decided
  18. squash — the sport
  19. firm — a company
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wound — an injury
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tube — the underground
  24. band — a ring

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