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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — an illness
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. track — a song
  14. drill — a practice
  15. snap — to click
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. track — a path
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. band — a ring
  23. staff — a stick
  24. track — to keep track

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