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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. game — a match
  6. pitch — completely
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. court — of a king
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — for sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — of law
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. game — wild animals
  23. present — there
  24. band — a music group

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