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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. face — to point toward
  3. ground — a position
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mate — a partner
  6. swing — music
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a music group
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ground — the earth
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to click
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — in golf
  17. mate — a friend
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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