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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. club — for golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. band — a music group
  7. spell — magic
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. spell — letters
  10. cell — a phone
  11. club — a group
  12. band — a ring
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. club — for dancing
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. spell — a short time
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. tear — to rip
  24. scale — size or range

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