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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wake — a trail
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ground — a position
  11. band — a ring
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. band — a music group
  14. snap — to click
  15. ground — the earth
  16. march — music
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — the month
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. ground — crushed

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