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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a music group
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. swing — music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. sharp — clever
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. last — final
  14. mate — to breed
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fine — all right
  19. last — finally
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. band — a ring
  24. swing — in golf

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