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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. present — a gift
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mark — a grade
  6. band — a music group
  7. mark — a trace
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. scale — in music
  11. present — the time now
  12. cell — in biology
  13. present — there
  14. cell — a phone
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out

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