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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. rash — hasty
  3. band — a music group
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. band — a ring
  13. deal — to handle
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rash — a series
  23. ball — a great time
  24. deal — an agreement

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