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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. spring — the season
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. spring — of water
  10. bound — certain
  11. pop — soda
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rest — a break
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bound — tied together
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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