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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a music group
  4. drill — army training
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — for sport
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. drill — a practice
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mate — to breed
  15. field — a subject
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. field — farmland
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. band — a ring
  22. mate — a friend
  23. drill — the tool
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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