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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rest — a break
  8. foot — a measure
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. dip — to sink
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. shower — to wash
  13. land — ground
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. last — final
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — finally
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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