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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. band — a ring
  3. fine — high quality
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. band — a music group
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fine — all right
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. race — a contest
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chest — of your body

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