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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — of water
  5. present — the time now
  6. wake — a trail
  7. capital — a city
  8. present — there
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. charge — in control
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — a box
  15. charge — electricity
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chest — of your body
  19. charge — a price
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a ring
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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