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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mug — a cup
  4. band — a music group
  5. tube — a container
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a great time
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tube — the underground
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. march — music
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mug — a face
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mug — to rob
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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