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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. net — after costs
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mine — for digging
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a music group
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bark — to shout
  19. band — a ring
  20. net — in sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. coach — a trainer

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