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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. can — a tin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rash — hasty
  9. can — to be able to
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cue — a signal
  14. spring — the season
  15. swing — music
  16. band — a ring
  17. can — a tin
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a music group
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. swing — in golf

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