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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — help
  3. rash — a series
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rash — hasty
  6. season — of the year
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. mine — for digging
  18. land — ground
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — steady
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — in sport
  23. firm — a company
  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