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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 116 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. squash — to crush
  3. swing — to play on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bass — low music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pound — a weight
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. mine — for digging
  21. swing — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a ring

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