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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. game — a match
  3. row — a line
  4. track — a song
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. game — wild animals
  9. band — a music group
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. row — to paddle
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. band — a ring
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wax — in the ear

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