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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mug — a cup
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. court — for sport
  5. suit — in cards
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. suit — to fit
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mug — to rob
  13. suit — clothes
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — an amount
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. band — a ring
  19. roll — a cake
  20. mug — a face
  21. last — final
  22. court — of law
  23. last — to go on
  24. band — a rubber band

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