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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. row — a line
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. track — a song
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — happy
  21. object — an aim
  22. content — the amount
  23. band — a ring
  24. row — to paddle

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