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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 120 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — a phone
  5. band — a music group
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — an aim
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. scale — in music
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pass — a permit
  18. clip — a video
  19. object — to protest
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cell — in biology
  24. scale — for weighing

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