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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bound — certain
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. shower — rain
  6. band — a ring
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bound — tied together
  10. current — of water
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bass — low music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bass — the fish
  15. shower — to wash
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bound — obliged
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. band — a music group
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bass — the instrument

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