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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. march — the month
  6. object — a thing
  7. band — a music group
  8. fall — the season
  9. object — to protest
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. march — the month
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — music
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chest — of your body
  18. object — an aim
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chip — to eat
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chest — a box
  23. chip — for betting
  24. fall — to drop

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