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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rock — music
  4. snap — to click
  5. stand — to bear
  6. band — a music group
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — a break
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitch — completely

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