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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. suit — to fit
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. board — a committee
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a ring
  9. suit — in cards
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — the fish
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kick — in football
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. board — to get on

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