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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. band — a ring
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a music group
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cell — a phone
  15. squash — to crush
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cell — in biology
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. arm — part of the body

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