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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. land — ground
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tube — a container
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. lean — thin
  7. land — to come down
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. scale — size or range
  11. band — a ring
  12. scale — in music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. tube — the underground
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lean — to bend
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. lean — to rest against

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