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

Word bank: toast · straw · cell · band · pit · nail · ball · chest

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. band — a music group
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cell — a phone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chest — a box
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cell — in biology
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. toast — bread
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a ring
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pit — a hole
  24. nail — for a hammer

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