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

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — a position
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ground — crushed
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a ring
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — the earth

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