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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mate — to breed
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bass — low music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. date — the fruit
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. fall — the season
  17. mate — a friend
  18. band — a ring
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a music group
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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