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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. band — a ring
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bound — obliged
  5. band — a music group
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. swing — music
  8. spring — of water
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. bound — certain
  14. degree — from a university
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. swing — in golf
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bound — tied together
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — temperature
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a rubber band

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