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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bulb — for light
  5. band — a ring
  6. pop — music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. band — a music group
  17. rush — hurry
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chest — a box
  23. pop — soda
  24. patient — a sick person

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