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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. band — a ring
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — certain
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a music group
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. club — a group
  18. track — a song
  19. club — for golf
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. track — a path
  22. land — ground
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bound — obliged

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