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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pop — soda
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — a box
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pop — to visit
  9. present — the time now
  10. pop — music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mine — for digging
  14. date — the fruit
  15. band — a music group
  16. chest — of your body
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. present — a gift
  20. chest — of your body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. present — there
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. mine — an explosive

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