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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. row — a line
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a music group
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. band — a ring
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — final

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