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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. board — to get on
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. snap — to click
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tube — a container
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. band — a music group
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. board — a committee
  18. tube — the underground

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