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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. kid — to tease
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. firm — steady
  8. board — to get on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. scale — size or range
  11. band — a ring
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — help
  17. board — a committee
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. pop — to visit
  21. hand — in cards
  22. band — a music group
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. scale — in music

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