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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 116 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cap — a hat
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a music group
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. face — to confront
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. lean — thin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. face — to point toward
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cap — a lid
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rash — hasty
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pit — in a race

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