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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ground — crushed
  3. band — a ring
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. ground — a position
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — for catching
  9. band — a music group
  10. spring — the season
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bank — for money
  13. net — after costs
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — in sport
  17. spring — of water
  18. bank — for money
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bank — of a river
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. hand — help

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