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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 116 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: bay · straw · fall · cue · band · stick · saw · bass

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. band — a ring
  2. cue — a hint
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bass — low music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a music group
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cue — for pool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fall — the season
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bass — the fish
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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