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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. hand — in cards
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. band — a ring
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. vault — a safe
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. hand — help
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spell — magic
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spell — letters
  20. deal — to handle
  21. drill — army training
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rash — a series

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