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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. toast — bread
  3. last — final
  4. lean — to bend
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. last — finally
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pop — soda
  10. spell — letters
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. band — a ring
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. band — a music group
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. pop — to visit
  22. last — to go on
  23. lean — thin
  24. pop — music

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