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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. current — happening now
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rule — a law
  5. swing — to play on
  6. current — of water
  7. present — a gift
  8. current — electric
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. band — a music group
  13. swing — in golf
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. present — the time now
  16. sharp — clever
  17. swing — music
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. present — there
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rule — government
  23. band — a ring
  24. trunk — of a tree

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