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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hand — help
  6. spring — a coil
  7. sharp — clever
  8. spring — of water
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. band — a ring
  12. current — electric
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. band — a music group
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spring — the season
  20. current — of water
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. current — happening now
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. perch — for a bird

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