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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rash — a series
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cell — a phone
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. prune — to trim
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bat — the animal

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