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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. charge — electricity
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — in control
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chest — a box
  11. band — a ring
  12. bound — certain
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rock — music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. band — a music group
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. charge — a price
  20. ground — a position
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bound — obliged
  24. rock — a stone

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