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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. staff — employees
  3. game — wild animals
  4. staff — employees
  5. ball — a dance
  6. band — a music group
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. game — a match
  10. ball — a great time
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. staff — a stick
  14. branch — a division
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fine — all right
  21. band — a ring
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rash — a series
  24. straw — dry grass

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