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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a ring
  3. rash — a series
  4. band — a music group
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. rash — hasty
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — to tease
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kid — child
  15. current — happening now
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — help
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. content — happy

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