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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. band — a music group
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bass — the fish
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. band — a ring
  9. bass — low music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. charge — a price
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — electricity
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. clip — a video
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. stem — to come from
  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