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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. lean — to bend
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cue — a signal
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. cue — a hint
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — for digging
  11. roll — a list
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lean — thin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. roll — a cake

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