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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. firm — a company
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. band — a ring
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. firm — decided
  11. band — a music group
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bass — low music
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. kick — in football
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — a phone
  20. firm — steady
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kick — with a leg

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