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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: suit · wound · fan · last · band · rest · clip · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. suit — clothes
  3. last — to go on
  4. rest — what's left
  5. suit — in cards
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rest — what's left
  10. last — final
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a music group
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. suit — to fit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. clip — for paper
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rest — a break
  22. wound — an injury
  23. band — a ring
  24. straw — a straw man

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