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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. band — a ring
  8. mark — a trace
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bound — certain
  11. kick — in football
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bound — tied together
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — boats
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bound — obliged
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. band — a music group
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. craft — a handicraft

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