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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. band — a ring
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. swing — music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. scale — in music
  14. track — a song
  15. cue — a hint
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cue — a signal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cue — for pool

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