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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rock — music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bound — certain
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fall — to drop
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. season — in sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bound — tied together
  20. spell — magic
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bound — obliged
  23. season — of the year
  24. fall — to drop

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