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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a music group
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. club — for dancing
  13. band — a ring
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wound — an injury
  20. club — a group
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. club — for golf
  24. wind — moving air

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