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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. plane — a tool
  3. game — a match
  4. net — after costs
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. craft — a skill
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. band — a ring
  11. craft — boats
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. game — wild animals
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bark — to shout

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