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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. face — to confront
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. swing — in golf
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bat — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. band — a ring
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. row — a line
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. swing — music
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wake — a trail
  24. band — a rubber band

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