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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. march — music
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stem — to come from
  14. band — a ring
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. march — the month
  17. charge — a price
  18. march — the month
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. charge — electricity
  23. mine — for digging
  24. charge — in control

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