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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fall — the season
  3. present — there
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. fall — to drop
  9. present — the time now
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wound — an injury
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. present — a gift

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