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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. band — a music group
  3. fine — all right
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. present — a gift
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. present — the time now
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fine — high quality
  24. degree — from a university

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