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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: dip · bay · rest · chest · straw · field · bulb · band

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rest — what's left
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rest — a break
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. field — a subject
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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