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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. band — a music group
  3. hand — help
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. saw — the tool
  7. object — a thing
  8. band — a ring
  9. object — an aim
  10. rule — a law
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bank — for money
  15. object — to protest
  16. bank — of a river
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hand — in cards
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bank — for money

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