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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. net — after costs
  3. firm — a company
  4. last — finally
  5. band — a music group
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — to come down
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. land — ground
  10. net — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. firm — steady
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. firm — decided
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. chest — a box
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — to rob
  24. land — a country

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