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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pound — a weight
  4. land — a country
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. kid — child
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. land — to come down
  11. rule — a law
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. deal — to handle
  17. land — ground
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rule — government
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pound — to hit hard

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