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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. net — in sport
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. wound — an injury
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — music
  11. rash — a series
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spell — letters
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. swing — to play on
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — for catching
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rash — hasty

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