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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. band — a ring
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. fork — in a road
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. dip — to sink
  18. board — to get on
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. game — a match

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