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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 120 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: band · shower · straw · wave · cue · bay · last · press

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cue — a signal
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. last — final
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. last — finally
  13. shower — rain
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. press — to push
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. shower — to wash
  21. last — to go on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. band — a ring
  24. wave — 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