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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rash — a series
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. swing — music
  22. bass — low music
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bass — the fish

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