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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 looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wound — an injury
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. row — a line
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. ground — crushed
  7. craft — a skill
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. craft — boats
  12. band — a music group
  13. sharp — clever
  14. ground — a position
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. band — a ring
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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