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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bound — certain
  4. cue — a hint
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. last — to go on
  8. bound — obliged
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. band — a music group
  11. pop — music
  12. branch — a division
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a ring
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cue — for pool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bound — tied together

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