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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. craft — a skill
  5. snap — to click
  6. key — in music
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. root — of a plant
  9. craft — boats
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. key — the most important part
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. root — the cause
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. band — a ring
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wake — a trail
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. root — of a word
  24. key — for a lock

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