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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bark — to shout
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. present — the time now
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. dip — to sink
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. chest — a box
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a ring
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. present — a gift

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