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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. band — a music group
  4. present — a gift
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — a video
  8. content — happy
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. firm — steady
  11. date — the fruit
  12. present — there
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. content — the amount
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. firm — a company
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. present — the time now
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. band — a ring

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