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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ground — the earth
  5. snap — to click
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. net — for catching
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — crushed
  11. band — a music group
  12. ground — a position
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rush — hurry
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rash — a series
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rash — hasty
  20. net — after costs
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. net — in sport
  23. tear — to rip
  24. branch — a division

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