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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. ball — a great time
  3. band — a music group
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. rush — hurry
  6. band — a ring
  7. swing — in golf
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fall — the season
  10. rest — a break
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. swing — music
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fall — to drop
  19. scale — size or range
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. scale — in music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — what's left
  24. scale — for weighing

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