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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spell — letters
  3. tear — from crying
  4. object — a thing
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. suit — in cards
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a ring
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. suit — to fit
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spell — a short time
  20. object — to protest
  21. suit — clothes
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. object — an aim
  24. pop — music

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