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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stem — to come from
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rush — hurry
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ball — a great time
  15. band — a music group
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. stem — of a plant

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