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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. band — a ring
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — a series
  8. band — a music group
  9. present — there
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pound — a weight
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — for money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — the Cold War

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