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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mine — for digging
  3. scale — size or range
  4. press — to push
  5. scale — in music
  6. band — a ring
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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