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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: date · object · straw · lean · bound · hand · tube · stick

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. object — to protest
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — thin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bound — certain
  8. tube — a container
  9. bound — tied together
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. object — an aim
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. object — a thing
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bound — obliged
  17. lean — to bend
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hand — help
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. date — the fruit

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