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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. game — wild animals
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a music group
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bear — the animal
  12. firm — decided
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. game — a match
  16. firm — steady
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. prune — to trim
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. squash — the sport
  21. firm — a company
  22. squash — to crush
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. game — a kind of play

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