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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. object — to protest
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. shower — to wash
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. object — an aim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. band — a music group
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. deal — to handle
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a ring
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. object — a thing

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