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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. foot — a measure
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bore — to tire
  7. last — to go on
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. deal — to handle
  10. file — a document
  11. last — finally
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. file — a line of people
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. band — a music group
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a tool
  22. bore — to drill
  23. last — final
  24. band — a ring

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