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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ball — a dance
  3. band — a ring
  4. snap — to click
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ground — crushed
  8. band — a music group
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bound — certain
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. ground — the earth
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rash — hasty
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. ground — a position

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