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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. kid — child
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. season — in sport
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a ring
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bank — for money
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — of the year
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pit — a hole

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