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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. band — a music group
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spell — magic
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — completely
  17. board — to get on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spell — letters
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. board — a committee
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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