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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. land — ground
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. land — a country
  7. track — a path
  8. wake — a trail
  9. band — a ring
  10. wound — an injury
  11. land — to come down
  12. track — a song
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a leader
  20. track — to keep track
  21. fine — all right
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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