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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. ball — a dance
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. field — for sport
  8. foot — a measure
  9. hand — help
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — farmland
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. band — a ring
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. field — a subject
  23. ball — a great time
  24. date — on the calendar

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