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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 120 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. content — happy
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rash — a series
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. band — a ring
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rash — hasty
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bass — low music
  18. game — a match
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pound — a weight

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