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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. tear — to rip
  6. ball — a dance
  7. net — after costs
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tear — from crying
  10. band — a music group
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. net — in sport
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pitch — completely
  17. band — a ring
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. plane — a tool
  20. ball — a great time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. net — for catching
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. ball — a round shape

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