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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bound — tied together
  5. scale — in music
  6. drill — army training
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bound — obliged
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. drill — a practice
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. scale — size or range
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cell — in biology
  19. drill — the tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bound — certain
  23. chest — a box
  24. lash — to lash out

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