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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — to rip
  6. scale — in music
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rush — hurry
  9. band — a ring
  10. scale — size or range
  11. net — in sport
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. net — after costs
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. chest — a box
  24. tear — from crying

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