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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to click
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. band — a music group
  8. wind — moving air
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. charge — a price
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. charge — electricity
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. vault — a safe
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. charge — in control
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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