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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. band — a ring
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. band — a music group
  17. mine — for digging
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. saw — the tool
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ball — a dance

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