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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — the earth
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bound — certain
  12. march — the month
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chest — a box
  20. ground — crushed
  21. march — music
  22. band — a ring
  23. mine — for digging
  24. ground — a position

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