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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. suit — clothes
  5. snap — to click
  6. suit — to fit
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. band — a music group
  12. suit — in cards
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. saw — the tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tube — a container
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. craft — a skill
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. tube — the underground

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