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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. deal — to handle
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mug — a face
  10. cell — a phone
  11. band — a music group
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chair — a leader
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mug — to rob
  18. spring — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spring — the season
  23. fall — the season
  24. mug — a cup

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