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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a music group
  3. ball — a dance
  4. present — the time now
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. object — to protest
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. object — a thing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. object — an aim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ball — a great time
  19. last — to go on
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. last — finally
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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