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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. key — for a lock
  3. hand — help
  4. pit — in a race
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a music group
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. row — a line

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