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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rule — a law
  3. bat — the animal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rule — government
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. content — happy
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — the amount

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