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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — the season
  4. rock — a stone
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. land — a country
  10. rock — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a music group
  13. can — to be able to
  14. club — a group
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a ring
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. can — a tin
  21. club — for golf
  22. land — ground
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. can — a tin

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