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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. band — a ring
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. band — a music group
  11. deal — to handle
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. saw — the tool
  15. court — of a king
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. court — of law
  18. deal — a big deal

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