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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. pop — soda
  3. band — a ring
  4. pop — to visit
  5. band — a music group
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — not warm
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pop — music
  10. mug — a cup
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. tear — from crying
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mug — to rob
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — an explosive

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