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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — a video
  4. mate — a friend
  5. firm — steady
  6. foot — a measure
  7. kid — to tease
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. mate — to breed
  10. band — a ring
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mate — a partner
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. firm — decided
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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