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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ground — crushed
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rash — a series
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. vault — a safe
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. band — a ring
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pitch — completely
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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