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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. band — a music group
  7. pound — a weight
  8. band — a ring
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tube — a container
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — finally
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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