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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bass — low music
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — soda
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stand — to bear
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pop — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. bass — the instrument

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