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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. last — final
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — to go on
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. band — a ring
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. court — of law
  12. last — finally
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. firm — decided
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. court — for sport
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — of a king
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. band — a music group

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