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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — a video
  5. game — a match
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pop — soda
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. firm — steady
  11. band — a ring
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pop — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. pop — to visit
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — to cut

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