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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lean — thin
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. court — of law
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for golf
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kid — child
  13. court — of a king
  14. club — a group
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. band — a music group
  19. pound — a weight
  20. club — for dancing
  21. kid — to tease
  22. court — for sport
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bass — the instrument

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