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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: mate · band · rush · hand · degree · straw · chest · toast

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chest — a box
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. hand — help
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mate — to breed
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chest — of your body
  11. toast — bread
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mate — a friend
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rush — hurry
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — an amount
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — temperature
  23. band — a ring
  24. chest — of your body

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