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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — a break
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rock — music
  7. game — a match
  8. rest — what's left
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. drill — the tool
  12. band — a ring
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rest — what's left
  20. game — wild animals
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — a stone
  24. game — a kind of play

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