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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 124 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. tube — the underground
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rash — a series
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. swing — music
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cue — a signal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cue — for pool
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cold — an illness

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