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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. ground — crushed
  4. shower — rain
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. court — of law
  9. pound — a weight
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — government
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of a king
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. band — a music group
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rule — a law
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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