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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. band — a ring
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. file — a tool
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. scale — size or range
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. scale — in music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a document
  22. band — a music group
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rest — a break

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