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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — finally
  6. band — a ring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fine — all right
  15. bound — certain
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fine — high quality
  19. degree — temperature
  20. last — to go on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. last — final
  23. bound — obliged
  24. band — a music group

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