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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — of water
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. band — a music group
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bass — low music
  18. pound — a weight
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pound — for dogs
  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