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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — the season
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. firm — a company
  9. game — a match
  10. sharp — clever
  11. firm — steady
  12. band — a music group
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. firm — decided
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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