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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. band — a music group
  3. mug — to rob
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. shower — rain
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. mug — a cup
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — to wash
  12. season — of the year
  13. mug — a face
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. tear — to rip
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — in sport

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