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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. track — a song
  4. rock — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. track — a path
  10. bass — low music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bass — the fish
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. band — a ring

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