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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a dance
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pit — a hole
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. row — a line
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. march — the month
  12. can — a tin
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pit — in a race
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. can — a tin
  19. row — to paddle
  20. can — to be able to
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. march — music
  23. band — a ring
  24. ball — a round shape

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