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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. band — a ring
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. rock — music
  6. suit — in cards
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. suit — to fit
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rock — a stone
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wax — to grow
  18. perch — the fish
  19. band — a music group
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cell — in biology
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. perch — for a bird

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