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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a music group
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rest — a break
  11. stand — to bear
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. band — a ring
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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