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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. present — there
  4. deal — to handle
  5. court — of a king
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rest — what's left
  8. court — for sport
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rest — a break
  11. present — a gift
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. tube — a container
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chair — a leader
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. present — the time now
  22. band — a ring
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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