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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — music
  14. scale — in music
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — soda
  17. bore — to tire
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. band — a ring
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wind — moving air

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