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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rock — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bound — tied together
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — in music
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. band — a ring
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. current — of water
  18. scale — size or range
  19. current — happening now
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hand — help
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. current — electric

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