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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. pop — music
  6. foot — a measure
  7. snap — to click
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pop — soda
  10. clip — a video
  11. firm — steady
  12. clip — to cut
  13. firm — decided
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. face — part of the head
  16. firm — a company
  17. pop — to visit
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — for paper
  20. face — to confront
  21. court — of law
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  24. band — a music group

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