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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. last — finally
  8. fall — the season
  9. degree — temperature
  10. present — there
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. present — a gift
  15. last — final
  16. present — the time now
  17. fall — to drop
  18. degree — from a university
  19. squash — the sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — an amount
  24. coach — a trainer

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