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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. band — a ring
  7. foot — a measure
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. band — a music group
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. club — for dancing
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hide — animal skin

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