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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. land — ground
  4. band — a ring
  5. row — a line
  6. land — a country
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mug — to rob
  9. squash — the sport
  10. last — finally
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. band — a music group
  14. last — final
  15. row — to paddle
  16. squash — to crush
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mug — a face
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mug — a cup
  22. land — to come down
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. last — to go on

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