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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bound — certain
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — a hat
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. key — for a lock
  14. net — after costs
  15. band — a music group
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — the animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bound — obliged
  24. key — in music

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