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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rash — a series
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. spell — magic
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spell — letters
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rash — hasty
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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