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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wax — to grow
  6. ball — a great time
  7. mug — a cup
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rest — a break
  13. mug — a face
  14. ball — a dance
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rest — what's left
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mug — to rob
  20. band — a ring
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mine — for digging

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