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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · club · file · arm · pit · chest · straw · deal

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. file — a tool
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pit — in a race
  10. band — a music group
  11. chest — a box
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a line of people
  14. deal — to handle
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. band — a ring
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a document
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chest — of your body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. deal — a big deal

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