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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ground — a position
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. spring — of water
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. band — a music group
  9. lean — to bend
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lean — thin

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