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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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Word bank
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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: straw · club · stem · present · mine · hide · toast · band

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. toast — bread
  7. club — for golf
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. club — for dancing
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. present — the time now
  18. band — a music group
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. present — there
  21. band — a ring
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. club — a group

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