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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — a position
  3. club — a group
  4. staff — employees
  5. club — for golf
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. perch — the fish
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. staff — a stick
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — help
  19. band — a music group
  20. staff — employees
  21. hand — in cards
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. band — a ring
  24. ground — the earth

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