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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a ring
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. pop — to visit
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pop — music
  13. branch — a division
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pop — soda
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. row — a line
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. band — a music group

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