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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ball — a great time
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. last — to go on
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. rush — hurry
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. band — a music group
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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