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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fine — all right
  7. face — to confront
  8. suit — clothes
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitch — completely
  16. swing — in golf
  17. band — a music group
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fine — high quality
  20. suit — in cards
  21. swing — music
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. suit — to fit
  24. cell — in a prison

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