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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. net — for catching
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. net — in sport
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spell — magic
  9. court — for sport
  10. key — the most important part
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. court — of law
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cell — in biology
  17. key — in music
  18. band — a ring
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. net — after costs
  22. cell — a phone
  23. court — of a king
  24. key — for a lock

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