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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. kid — child
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a ring
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. court — of law
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. band — a music group
  14. kid — to tease
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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