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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ball — a dance
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. net — for catching
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — for digging
  9. staff — employees
  10. net — after costs
  11. band — a ring
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. net — in sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rash — a series
  23. band — a music group
  24. cold — not warm

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