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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cell — a phone
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cell — in biology
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. swing — to play on
  12. snap — to click
  13. band — a music group
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bear — the animal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. pit — in a race
  20. band — a ring
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. branch — a division

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