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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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bear — the animal
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. last — to go on
  9. mine — for digging
  10. last — final
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. band — a ring
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — finally
  19. ball — a great time
  20. chest — a box
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chest — of your body

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