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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — of water
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. swing — music
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. spring — the season
  13. roll — a cake
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — to play on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. band — a music group
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. roll — a list
  24. mine — for digging

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