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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 120 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. band — a music group
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chest — of your body
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a ring
  16. chest — a box
  17. craft — boats
  18. hand — help
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. rush — hurry

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