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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 116 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. band — a music group
  3. lie — to recline
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rock — music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. plane — a tool
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mate — to breed
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rock — a stone
  24. kid — child

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