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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: rash · wind · date · foot · straw · band · arm · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. foot — a measure
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. rash — a series

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