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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. track — to keep track
  4. clip — a video
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bound — tied together
  7. craft — boats
  8. kid — child
  9. craft — a skill
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stand — to bear
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. band — a ring
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bound — obliged
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. band — a music group
  24. bound — certain

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