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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. deal — to handle
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chair — a leader
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. temple — a place of worship

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