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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. band — a music group
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. foot — a measure
  13. band — a ring
  14. kid — child
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pit — a hole
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. rush — hurry
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rash — a series
  24. nail — for a hammer

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