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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bore — to tire
  5. band — a ring
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cap — a hat
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wake — a trail
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bore — to drill

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