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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. face — to confront
  4. band — a ring
  5. last — final
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rash — hasty
  8. spring — of water
  9. rash — a series
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. row — a line
  13. last — finally
  14. spring — the season
  15. face — part of the head
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spring — a coil
  18. face — to point toward
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. last — to go on
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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