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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. present — a gift
  3. wind — moving air
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — to tease
  7. present — there
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. band — a music group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. present — the time now
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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