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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — bread
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rash — hasty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fine — high quality
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rash — a series
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — not warm

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