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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stand — to bear
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ball — a dance
  8. game — a match
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. spring — of water
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. band — a music group
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ball — a great time
  19. spring — the season
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. spring — a coil
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. hand — help
  24. prune — the fruit

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