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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — final
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — a price
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. charge — electricity
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bear — the animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. wax — to grow

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