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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a ring
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. key — the most important part
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bat — in an idiom

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