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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. track — a song
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wound — an injury
  5. band — a music group
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. date — the fruit
  11. land — a country
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — to come down
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. ground — crushed
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. track — a path
  22. ground — a position
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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