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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cell — in biology
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. last — to go on
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. last — final
  9. club — a group
  10. band — a ring
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. key — in music
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. last — finally
  24. wind — moving air

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