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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. row — a line
  4. band — a ring
  5. suit — to fit
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. suit — clothes
  9. rule — government
  10. rest — a break
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. suit — in cards
  13. rule — a law
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rest — what's left
  18. row — to paddle

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