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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. craft — a skill
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bat — the animal
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — to come down
  13. key — in music
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. land — ground
  16. key — for a lock
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. band — a ring
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. craft — boats
  24. key — the most important part

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