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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. scale — in music
  11. band — a ring
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. board — a committee
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. dip — to sink
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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