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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. lean — thin
  5. bore — to tire
  6. field — a subject
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bore — to drill
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — help
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. field — for sport
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a music group
  19. lean — to bend
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — farmland

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