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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. rest — a break
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. band — a music group
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. toast — bread
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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