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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. press — to push
  4. snap — to click
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. march — music
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bound — obliged
  9. march — the month
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. band — a ring
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bound — tied together
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. march — the month
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bound — certain
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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