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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: shower · pit · firm · band · straw · foot · rule · bass

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. shower — rain
  3. rule — a law
  4. firm — decided
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. firm — steady
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bass — the fish
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. band — a music group
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rule — government
  23. firm — a company
  24. band — a rubber band

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