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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. band — a ring
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chair — a leader
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. swing — music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. swing — to play on
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. land — ground
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. land — a country
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spring — the season
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. land — to come down
  23. spring — of water
  24. arm — a part of something

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