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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — a match
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — not warm
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cold — an illness
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in biology
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. court — for sport
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. court — of law
  24. cold — the Cold War

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