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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · ground · firm · mug · wind · band · cap · rash

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. band — a music group
  3. mug — a face
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ground — the earth
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rash — a series
  13. wind — moving air
  14. firm — steady
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mug — a cup
  18. band — a ring
  19. firm — decided
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. firm — a company
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ground — a position
  24. mug — to rob

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