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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a ring
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. staff — employees
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chest — a box
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. staff — employees
  24. band — a rubber band

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