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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. last — final
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. band — a music group
  5. last — finally
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. last — to go on
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. spell — magic
  14. fine — all right
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fine — high quality
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spell — letters
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. band — a ring
  24. swing — music

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