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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. swing — music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. deal — to handle
  9. band — a music group
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — music
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. swing — to play on
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — for digging
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. mine — belonging to me

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