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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fine — high quality
  3. rush — hurry
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ball — a great time
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. band — a music group
  24. cold — not warm

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