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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 116 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. file — a document
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. band — a ring
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. pop — music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bass — low music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. mark — a trace
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pop — soda

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