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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 116 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — not warm
  3. key — the most important part
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tube — the underground
  10. drill — army training
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. key — in music
  15. tube — a container
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. press — to push
  19. band — a ring
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stem — to come from
  22. drill — a practice
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — dry grass

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