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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wound — an injury
  5. band — a ring
  6. perch — the fish
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — moving air
  10. season — in sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. mark — a trace
  14. fall — the season
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. band — a music group
  24. mark — a grade

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