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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. firm — steady
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. band — a music group
  17. bat — the animal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. firm — a company
  22. date — the fruit
  23. file — a tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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